CD Review

PARLOURGoogler (Temporary Residence Ltd.) * * * 1/2 This exhilarating second release from Louisville's Parlour starts out with "Jololinine," a confetti of synths, propulsive rhythms, and guitars that expand in twinkling crescendos. From there, Googler unfurls confidently and with excellent posture, adding surprise elements to each track--delicately tough bass, scary swarms of electronics, hiphop rhythms, ambient twirls, twittering dramatic glitch, keyboards separated in chunks and hurled into funky piles. It takes a special group to play instrumentals without inducing the listener into a coma--and believe me, the thought of any more sluggish post-rock makes me wanna slice out my hypothalamus in self-defense. But with their procession of both organic and electronic instruments, Parlour twists and tweaks the right angles to make a compelling narrative structure. And they sound alive--an important aspect for any musical endeavor. JULIANNE SHEPHERD

THE PUNK GROUP International Rock Stars (Self-Released) * * Dressed in black duds, white shades, and sloppily synchronized dance dumbery, The Punk Group are gonna steal your girl. International Rock Stars is a polished album of primitive new wave and electro tunes that risks ass-kickings and lawsuits by taking on licensed properties ("Yoda") and property licensors ("Poirier Brothers?"). No one is safe from the black belt elbows of The Punk Group. If you're a fat girl on a bicycle, a homophobic sports fan, or are easily offended, steer clear. But if a bit of caustic humor that's good natured, stupid, and totally unapologetic can still get a rise out of you, there's plenty to laugh at here. Without the dance beats and Ramones riffs to provide a foundation, none of these songs would work so well. "Bone Down" delivered with a straight face could easily have won them a spot on the Electroclash tour, but then Peaches would have been dancing on broken eggs instead of skinny legs. NATHAN CARSON